Improvement in railroad-car ventilators



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. B. SPENCER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-CAR VENTILATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,199, dated October G, 1863.

To aZZ whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, A. B. SPENCER, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new andImproved Gar-Ventilator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exactl description thereof, reference heilig had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

Figure lis a longitudinal vertical section ,of the ventilator as located in the top of a railroad car or coach; Fig. 2, a horizontal section thereof in the plane indicated by the line x w, Fig. l; Fig. :3, a view exhibiting the construction, arrangement, and operation of the levers and connecting rods or links for actuating the dampers or valves by which the ingress and egress of air are controlled; Fig. 4, a detached view, in section and elevation, of the device for discharging the water (when rendered impure) from the purifying tanks orv chambers.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures. i

My improved ventilator is located on the top of a car or coach, and may be readily applied to a car already constructed, as well as to one constructing. A single large ventilator may be employed on each car, or a larger number of smaller' ones-say about three for a car of ordinary size. A'proper size for each of three ventilators applied to an ordinary car may be estimated to be such as to furnish an ingress and egress passage of from one hundred, and fifty to two hundred square inches of clear transverse space. Each ventilator is complete in itself, and has a mouth opening toward each end of the car, so as to admit air when going in either direction, and to furnish an egress-passage at the same time for the escape of impure air from the car, the construction being such as to perform both of these functions automatically in the most perfect manner when the car is going either way without any chan ge or adjustment whatever. The mode of accomplishing` this will now be fully specified in the following description.

The particular shape and dimensions of the ventilator and of its several parts need not be specially set forth, the accompanying draw` ings vindicating them with sufficient accuracy. A suitable outer case, A, incloses the whole, there being` an aperture ofthe proper size from the center thereof down into the case, as shown in Figs. 'l and 2. The mouths or openings B B, respectively, at each end of the ventilator, Iirst admit the air by the motion of the car, it being obvious that the forward mouth always admits the air and the rear one discharges the impure air, as indicated in Fig. l hence, although forconvenience in the description both of the several duplicate parts will be mentioned and their functions specified together, it will be understood that only one of each is acting at one time. The admitted air is immediately deflected downward by partitions G G, which are best curved substantially as shown in Fig. 1. The air thus deflected forcibly downward strikes the surface of water, which is constantly kept in tanks or chambers C C.

These tanks Inay be about four inches (more or less) in height, and the water may about half iill them. They extend in length and breadth some distance beyond the size of the openings above, thus producing a jutting or projection, b, over the sides of the tanks all round. rFhe principal object of this is to keep the water morequiet and to prevent its dashing up the sides of the ventilator by the oscillations produced by the motions of the car, whereby otherwise the cinders and dust would be lodged on the sides and partitions, and, becoming dry again,would increase the impurity ofthe air. Another advantage of these side juttings or projections is that the air whirling around in the recesses thus formed is brought not only into more extended and sure Contact with the surface of the water, but with the constantly-moistened surface of the jutting ledges, and is thereby more thoroughly purified.

i In order to keep the water constantly spread over the whole surface of the tanks, notwith standing the rocking of the car from side to side and the occasional tilting thereof(more or 1ess)t.o one side, ribs c c are located on the bottom of each tank in the longitudinal direction of the car, at the distance of every few inches apart. These ribs may be of the full height of the water or less. These, it is obvious, will retain a portion ofvfater in each intermediate space, so that the desired effect is at once produced; butin drawing off the water rendered impure 'by cinders and dust, which is ordinarily done at one side, these ribs, if no provision were made to obviate it, would` `cause those cinders and impurities to lodge more or less against them and not be discharged. To remedy this, theribsc c do not eX- tend quite across the whole width of the tanks, but a narrow opening, i, is left at one end, the spaces alternating' at opposite ends of adjacent ribs, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. Thus while the water is' prevented from rapidly iiowing down all to one side, (which is all that is practically to be effected by the use of the ribs cc, since the oscillations from one side to the other follow each other so quickly that the car itself usually quite speedily brings the water back over the whole surface of the tanks,) there is left sufiicient free space to drain oft' all ofthe water with its impurities, to he replaced by clean water.

The water may be snpplit d to the tanks in any convenient manner.

For drawing off the foul water, tubes e e, Fig. 2, lead from the two tanks C G into a common discharging-spout. These tubes are kept closed by suspended valves or stops g g, and by a double cam,f, which, beingpressed against the valves by the handlever h, as shown, closes the ends of the tubes tight, and the cam, being wedged between the valves, holds them securelyin place. 0n turning the cam away fromthe valves the latter swing away from the tubes by their own weight or by springs, or other means, so that the water tlows out of the tanks. The air admitted at the mouths B B, after being deprived of cinders and dust by contact with the water in the tanks G (J, as above set forth, and thereby being purified and cooled, (if before hot,) as well as properly charged with moisture, is caused to ascend again inward over other partitions, H H, which divide the spaces over the tanks from the central aperture opening into the car below. The size of the openings over 'the partitions H H is regulated by valves or dampers D D, pivoted at the top of said openings so as to swing outward or inward, as desired. The proper shape andy position ot' these valves are indicated in Fig. l. By means of these the amount of Ventilating air admitted is regulated to suit the temperature or number of people in the car, or to Iadapt it to any other varying circumstances. The device for regulating the positions of these valves or dampers is shown in Fig 3. lt consists of a combination ot' oppositelypivoted levers and connecting rods or links situated in a space outside of or separate from the interior ventilator, and of notched hand levers or bars I I, situated in the upper part of the car, so as to be readily reached and adjusted by any one therein. Each of these hand-levers is pivoted to a lever, J, which is pivoted at its upper end, so that its lower end will swing forward or backward freely. There are notches in the lower edge of each handlever, so that by placing either upon a suitable catch or stop the swinging lever J will be held in any position desired, and by consequence the valve or damper connected-therewith is similarly adjusted to any desired po sition. Each lever J is connected at a suitable point by a link or rod, 7s, with a lever, l, oscillating on a pivot at its lower end, so that its upper end swings forward or backward. The upper free end of each swinging lever l is jointed through a slot in the separatingpartition with another link or connecting-rod, m, which is hinged directly to its valve or damper D. The whole arrangement is substantially as s hown in the drawings.

The central aperture of the ventilator open ing into the car is larger than either of those leading to it-say about twice as large; and from a pivot, af, centrally over and at the top of this aperture, in a line from side to side ot' the ventilator, is suspended a swinging partition or diaphragm, E, its lower swinging edge reaching down to the.- air-distributing plate F, while its side edges reach the sides ofthe ventilator or so nearly as only to leave the partition free to swing backward or forward. This swinging partition is considered to be of great and essential importance to the complete automatic working of my invention.

The distributingplate F, below, somewhat more than covers the entire central aperture ofthe ventilator, and is far enough below the top of the interior of the car to allow the air to passfreely into the ycar through the intervenin g space. This plate is supported bysuitable standards or rods suspended from the' top of the car, and is curved so that the lower edge of the partition E will swing close to it throughout the entire movement thereof. The purposes and advantages of this swinging partition in connection with the other parts ot' the ventilator, will be readily understood from a description of the action of the ventilator under varying circumstances. Thus, on the starting ot' the car (supposing the doors and windows thereof to be closed) the air enters into the car through the ventilator in front of the swinging partition, which it deflects 'or swings backward, perhaps the whole distance to the back of the central aperture, and thus the escape of air from the car through the rear end of the ventilator is wholly prevented till the maximum pressure resulting from the motion of the car is produced insideof the car. Then, the rush of air through the venti lator becoming stopped or checked by the pressure within, the partition E descends by its gravity toward its central position, thus allowing the escape of more or less of the heated air in the top of the car. This antagonism ofthe gravity of the partition and of the escaping air against the inrushing air is constantly kept up. If the ear increases in speed, so as to cause a stronger pressure inward, the swinging partition is swung farther back, thus checking the egress of impure air through the rear end of the ventilator, and reducing the amount of air introduced in front, and consequently the force of inward current. Then, the return of the swinging partition again nearer to the center allows an increase l of the ventilationv and of the inwardcurrent;

and if the car goes slower the descent of the swinging partition toward the center allows an increase of the inward draft and amount of circulation, so that the current of ventilation is kept very nearly constant in al1 the variations ofthe cars speed and other changeable circumstances. The distributingplate F, since the swinging partition reaches closely down thereto, causes the inrushing air to spread through the top of the car and away from the swinging partition, so that the foul escaping air passing in over the other end of said distributing-plate, does not mix with the fresh air, and there is no waste of pure air thereby. The ventilator will go either end foremost, and work equally well and automatically either way.

l/Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Thezswinging partition E, arranged and acting in combination with the other parts of the double ventilator, so that the same ventilator will go in either direction and perform the double function of admitting the pured air and discharging the foul air equally well either way and automatically, while the draft of ventilation is regulated and made nearly uniform thereby, substantially as herein specified.

2. rIhe distributing-plate F, arranged and operating, in combination with the swinging partition E, substantially as and for the purpos'e herein set forth.

3. The ribs c c, arranged upon the bottoms of the tanks C C, longitudinal with the car, when there are communicating spaces t' t' alternately at the ends of adjacent ribs, for the purposes set forth, and in combination therewith, the jutting edges b b, over the sides of the tanks, operating as specified.

4. The arrangement and combination ofthe catch-bars I I, levers J J l l, and connecting rods or links 7s k m m, for regulating the valves or dampers D D, as specified.

A. B. SPENCER.

Vitnesses J. FRASER, S. J. ALLis 

